


Invictus

by beyondthetide (orphan_account)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Love, Marriage, Original Character(s), Protective Shiro (Voltron), Reunions, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Shiro (Voltron)'s Missing Year, Shiro is engaged
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-09-26 04:10:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9861896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/beyondthetide
Summary: Shiro leaves Finace on Earth when he is taken by the Galra. Who is then taken by the Galra after he escapes to try and recreate "the Champion". She's saved by the Paladins etc etc..





	1. The Night Before

There were a million reasons why she always went over her last day with Takashi Shirogane in her head. Because there were a million things she could of done different... maybe he would of stayed? But then, in hind sight, she thinks about his personality. And she knows that he would never of missed the opportunity to fly to Kerberos.

The evening before he disappeared was fun. Mr Holt had invited the two of them over for dinner, it was nice, she was always fond of the Holt's. Sam was kind, generous and always had her laughing. Albeit, had his kids groaning at his jokes but she tended to like them. Matt was much the same, immensely intelligent and diligent but also very kind. He was only a couple years junior to her. She liked them. She trusted them to look after him while she couldn't.

Takashi Shirogane was light of her life. They met in the Galaxy Garrison as teens. He lent her a pen. The rest was history... At first, she wasn't all that interested in him. In fact, she thought him quite stuck up. Sure, Hazel did well in school but Shiro just never came out. He didn't look up from studying long enough to know what fun was. It wasn't until their graduation after party - where her friend left her for some guy and Shiro stood alone in the corner that she went to chat to him and they hit it off.

7 "Saturn's Rings" later - a drink that was famous amongst the students of the Garrison for turning your legs into jelly - and Shiro was seeing stars; quite literally. And then throwing up in the poor hosts toilet. Hazel couldn't get a word in about where to drop him home between episodes of vomiting (a 9am shift at the local cafe meant she'd not been drinking and could drive home) so she let him crash on her apartment couch.

Shiro felt so guilty the next morning for soiling her bathroom (extensively) that he asked her out for coffee as an aplogy. Coffee lead to lunch. Lunch lead to dinner. And so on and so forth until 5 years later - they were engaged.

She was the light of his life as well. Everything about her. Shiro had had the most pityingly awful crush on her from the moment the words "hey, do you have a spare pen?" left her mouth. She was gorgeous, flowing golden hair that always fell in perfect curls down her back, usually twisted into a ponytail. Her eyes were a glowing, emerald shade of moss green. He had it bad. Honestly, didn't quite believe his luck when she said yes to a date, never mind to marry him.

But, he crept his way into her heart. Now, she didn't know what life was before him. This lead her to toss and turn, sleep never quite grasping her the night before he was due to fly. She rolled over in bed and looked at him, bare broad shoulders. A single freckle on his left shoulder blade. Things she'd gotten used to. Things she never thought she'd miss so much. One thing she'd always cherished about him was he was always so... warm.

Hazel was born two months early, she almost didn't make it but she'd had circulation problems all her life. Meaning hands and feet were usually always cold. Shiro never complained when she shoved her ice cube toes on to his legs in the bed sheets, just shuddered and brought her into his chest so she'd warm faster.  
But as she stared at his sleeping form, back turned to her, she felt cold for the first time being with him. As if, he already wasn't there. This is what reduced her to tears. Her soft sobs instantly woke him. As if ears were fine tuned to the smallest noise of distress from her. His heart gave a painful twist as he turned and saw her.

"Hey, baby, what's wrong?" he murmured, instantly pulling her into his chest. Her skin was cold as always, to the touch. But to her, he was scorching hot.

"Nothing, it's stupid.." he muttered, feeling irritated that he'd caught her "it's just... I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." he hummed, fingers running through soft, blonde locks "it's only a few months, it'll be like I was never even gone. You won't even notice."

"Yes, I will, Shiro." she hissed into his chest "who else is going to make my sandwiches and cut the crusts off?"

A chuckled bubbled out of his mouth and she smiled as his chest shook under her hands "is that all you'll miss?" he smiled, pressing kisses into the crown of her head.

"I'll miss everything." she went on "your smile, your awful singing in the shower, your lame jokes, the way you make me laugh." 

He was amazed that after all this time together she still brought a blush to his face, she looked up at him, resting her chin on the valley off his chest as he rolled on to his back to look her in the eyes. Memorising the curves of her face before he didn't see her for 6 months.

"I love you." he said into the silence and the corners of her lips tugged upwards.

"I know." she quoted Star Wars, something they tended to do and his chest shook under her as Shiro let off another laugh "I love you too, so much."

He smiled, brushing hair from her face. She sighed and sat up off his chest, making him frown and he lent up on to his elbows. She crossed her legs beneath her as she pulled the necklace from around her neck. Shiro knew it well, he'd given it to her on their 3rd date after all. Actually, he'd won it. They went to an arcade and he'd owned Skii Ball. Leading him to win this dumb necklace with a cheap, copper star on the end of black rope. Though it never, in the 5 years since he won it, left her neck. Until now, when she leaned forward and dropped it around his.

"So you can see and and think of me." she smiled, he looked at it for a moment before sitting up too, trapping her chin in his hand before kissing her. It was soft, slow and almost painfully desperate.

"There won't be a moment where I'm not thinking of you." he mumbled, picking her up and into his lap.

"You're so cheesy, Takashi." she giggled, burying her face in the crook of his neck as he rocked them back and forth.

"I know." he smiled "but you love it."

"I do."


	2. Humans

The night she received the phone call that the Kerberos mission had crashed due to a "pilot error" a million emotions ran threw her head. Her first instinct kicked in, which was to slam the phone down, the second was to cry, and she did - for hours. The third, was nothing at all, she sat in Shiro's favourite armchair in their living room, one of his shirts on and stared into space.

It was 4 am when she had Katie Holt banging her fist on her door, screaming that it couldn't of been a pilot error. Hazel knew she was right, she just didn't want to believe it. She wanted to cry. Wanted to mourn. But the more Katie talked and the more she thought about Shiro, she found herself agreeing with her to try and uncover the truth.

She never got the chance. It was only a few months later she was reported missing by one of her neighbours. The elderly woman that lived across the hall from Shiro and Hazel was rather fond of the couple. They were quiet, respectful and they checked in on her cats when she went home to visit her family. She'd seen the news about the Kerberos mission and the passing of the pilot, so when she heard screaming sometime in the night, she thought nothing of it. The poor girl was in mourning. She'd check in on her in the morning.

And she did, she found the apartment perfectly pristine, using the key the couple had given her for emergencies. Except, Hazel was no where to be seen. The police suspected she must have gone home or fled, never getting over the death of her fiance, but the more the woman looked around the more she doubted that. Tea gone cold on her nightstand, clothes still in the cupboard, book left open on the bed. Like she had just been there and vanished off the face of the planet.

Which, technically, she had. The Galra had not only taken the Kerberos mission but around the same time there was news of the small colony that lived on Mars tragically dying in a fire that no one could of predicted. They were all taken by Galra.

Losing "the Champion" out of the Gladiator arena spelt bad news for Strax - the Galra in charge of making the fights entertaining. Matt Holt never meant to let slip that Shiro had a girl he intended to marry - it was just kind talk amongst other prisoners. The moment Strax heard of this, he knew that someone as blood thirsty as The Champion was bound to have picked a wife as equally so. Therefore, he sent the Mars mission back to Earth, under Galra control. To, in the middle of night, take her.It was his head on the chopping block that Shiro had got away, though there was rumours of a spy.

The moment she was thrown into the cell on the Galra ship Matt instantly recognised her. "Hazel?" he croaked, voice hoarse from lack of water or care from aliens who kept them there. She jumped in fear at the sound of a voice, shaking all over she looked into the darkness. Matt smiled gently and emerged "it's okay, it's me -Matt."

"Matt?" she said, voice quiet as the boy knelled in front of her "you're alive?"

"Just barely." he smiled

"Sh-Shiro?" she sobbed

"I'm.. I don't know," he sighed "he was sent into the Gladiator ring and I haven't heard about him in months."

She sobbed and launched forward, throwing her arms around the boy. He was taken a back but smiled and hugged back gently "your sister is so worried about you." she sniffed

"Katie?" he frowned as she pulled away, rubbing her eyes.

She nodded "she doesn't believe it was a pilot error, we were going to do some digging into the Garrison."

Matt smiled "she's a smart one, I'm sure she'll figure it out."

That was all she saw of the oldest Holt child before the doors to the cell opened again and she was taken away again, kicking and screaming. Strax's last hope was useless, she was small, weak and though she was tough and didn't take shit from them. She simply wasn't a Gladiator. So after a few months of trying they send her to a cell where she was locked away to rot until she died.

Hazel wasn't sure how long it was between then and when she first came in contact with the Paladins, it could of been 5 minutes but it felt like months. All she knew is she squinted into the light as the door to her cell opened and she was met with a kind voice.

"Lance, I found someone... she's human..."

"She?" came another voice "Quiznak! They're right behind us - just grab her, Hunk, we need to go now."

With that her small, fragile - and slightly starved - body was being lifted into a pair of arms and ran out of the cell. She could barely see as sudden bright lights blinded her, eyes used to damp and dark of her Galra cell. Suddenly, the roof of a ship was over her head and she was being put down on the floor. A boy who couldn't of been older than 18 crouched down in front of her, kind blue eyes shining at her. Humans. She'd been saved by humans.


	3. Chapter 3

"Can you talk?" the boy asked as the ship took off "do you speak English?"

"Y-yes." she croaked, not quite believing the sight in front of her. She turned to look at her other rescuer, tall with a kind smile.

"Good, my name's Lance." the blue one said and she looked back to him "what's your name?"

"Hazel..." she said

"Pretty name." he smiled and was met with a snap of-

"Lance!" from the one driving the ship. She let off a small giggle, the sound was utterly foreign to her now and it took her off guard.

Lance smiled at her "anyway, I'm Lance and this is Hunk - we're two of the Paladin's of Voltron."

"Vol..tron...? That's a real thing?" she questioned, her whole time there the Galra had talked about Voltron and how the "Red Lion" had been stolen from them. She felt a wave of relief, these people had been fighting against the Galra.

"Yes, we're the Defenders of the Universe." he smirked and she almost rolled her eyes.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, shivering slightly. Lance looked at her with pity before she felt a coat pulled around her shoulders. She looked and saw a Kaki jacket and she pushed her arms through the sleeves thankfully. It was still warm and her heart gave a sudden painful twist as she remembered Shiro. Was he even alive?

"Our ship, it's safe there," Lance said "mostly."

"We're here." Hunk spoke and stood up from the controls. He smiled at the girl as Lance held a hand out to her.

"Can you stand?" he asked

"I.. don't know." she frowned, she hadn't stood in a while. She reached a hand out and took his, he winced slightly as cold fingers hit his very warm hand but he still held it tight as she got to shaky legs. They almost immediately buckled as she tried to walk. Lance caught her around the waist.

"Here." he spoke, putting her hand around his shoulders, still holding it, the other around her waist "how about I help?"

"Th-thank you..." she said and made her feet move toward the exit. The landing bay of the ship shone and she winced into more bright lights.

"Lance!" came a female voice and she looked up to see one of the most beautiful woman she'd ever set her eyes on.

"We found a human prisoner on the Galra ship, I hope it's alright we took her back with us." Lance said

"Of course." the woman looked at her "god, she's skin and bones - we better get her to the medipods."

"Hazel?" came another voice and the girl turned to where she saw Katie Holt standing in the same battle suits as her rescuers.

"You two know each other?" Lance frowned but Hazel wasn't paying attention. Her heart had already stopped in her chest at the sight of him. _Him_.

The Galra amnesia made sure that Shiro didn't remember Hazel for the year he was captured. He remembered her laugh, he remembered cold hands but other than that - nothing. The necklace with the star, that Keith had once asked him about, was all he had. He remembered he had been given it by her. He told Keith someone special gave it to him, but he couldn't remember who. However, the moment he set eyes on her, it all came flooding back all at once, 5 years of memories stashed away in the corner of his mind all came rushing into his head - the moment the word "Takashi?" left her pretty lips.

Hazel let go of Lance the moment she saw him, a delirious smile breaking out on to her face as she stumbled towards him "Takashi?" she croaked, ambling past a smiling Pidge.

"Hazel?" his response cracked, and with the comfort of his voice being exactly the same, despite his changed appearance, she let off a laugh. Her feet moving into a run, Shiro only had to take a few steps forward but she was on him in a second. Launching herself into his chest, arms went around his shoulders and she buried her sobbing face into the crook off his neck. Shiro was crying too, much to the shock of the other Paladins - all except Pidge. Hazel felt strong arms go around her waist, holding her two feet off the floor and she just wrapped thin legs around his waist.

"You're alive." she sobbed, leaning away from his neck to look at his face, hands desperately combing through his hair. White hair? Her fingers traced lightly over the deep scar on his nose "you were gone a year - I thought..."

The Paladins, except Pidge, were all equally shocked at his point when she cupped their leader's jaw and brought his lips to hers. Shiro was overwhelmed, suddenly filled with a million emotions, all of them screaming how much he loved her. His hands pulled her as close as humanly possible, desperately clutching metal fingers into her hair. She pulled away as he put her down.

"You're alive." she repeated, fingers grasping into his shirt.

"You're as beautiful as the day I let." Shiro whispered and his voice reduced her to a sobbing mess again and she grabbed him around the waist.

"You're j-just as cheesy." she let out a watery laugh

"Uh, Shiro?" Keith was the first one to question it. Shiro looked up to see all the Paladins bemused by the display. He locked eyes with Pidge who was grinning and he smiled. Hazel stepped away, brushing her face.

"Guys, this is Hazel." he said, hands clutching both her shoulders "my, uh, fiance."

"Your WHAT?" Lance choked

It was this point Hazel remembered Pidge "Katie?" she grinned

"Hey Hazel." Pidge smiled

"Katie?!" Lance was overwhelmed as Hazel hugged the green Paladin.

"Your brother misses you." Hazel whispered as they parted

"You've seen him?!" Pidge asked

Hazel sighed and nodded "a few months ago on a Galra ship, I was taken to a different one.. I'm sorry I don't remember where it was."

Pidge sighed but smiled "thank you, it's good to see you... you were reported missing."

"I was taken by some guys and locked on to the Galra ship.." she said but she could feel herself going faint, she'd not eaten in god knows how long and she was exerting a lot more energy than her body could take. Her knees gave way. Shiro was there in a second, grabbing her quickly. She groaned as she clutched him "s-sorry..."

"Let's get her to the medipods... she's starved." came the woman's soft voice. Hazel took an instant liking to the kind voice and smiled at the alien woman as Shiro's cold, metal arm went under her. He instantly knew she was underweight. Shiro had carried her like this many times and he could feel the grooves of her spine digging into his human arm.

"Your arm." she whispered, looking at the metal Galra tech that was under her knees. He gave her a sad smile and she returned it shakily, dropping her head on to his shoulder, fingers gripping into his shirt. Scared he was just going to disappear.

"God, you're so light." his voice was in pain "how long has it been since you ate?"

"I don't remember..." she mumbled. Shiro found it hard to look at her face, sullen, dark circles, her cheek bones stuck out against her skin more than he remembered.

"If we get her into a medipod it should heal her of the malnutrition but it won't put any weight on her, she has to do that." the woman was speaking to Shiro as they entered the infirmary.

"I'm gonna put you down now, baby." Shiro said gently and her heart swelled at the old name he always called her. She hummed to let him know she was ready and he set her bare feet down gently on the floor. The woman was standing with her hand out by the medipod and Hazel took it. She helped her into the pod and smiled as she typed something into the key pad outside.

"You'll only be in there for a few hours." she spoke to Hazel "you and Shiro can catch up when you feel much better."

"Thank you." she smiled before the pod sprayed her with sleeping gas and she fell unconscious.


End file.
